Rhiannon Ingle
Doctors have been forced to respond after one woman allegedly gave birth to a stranger’s baby due to a major 'error'.
A woman is suing an IVF clinic in Florida, the Fertility Center of Orlando, after she allegedly gave birth to a child who was not genetically hers.
According to a lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court earlier this month (9 January), which was obtained by News 6 Orlando, the woman and her spouse claimed she was a patient at the fertility centre when she was allegedly implanted with the wrong embryo.
The husband and wife, who are referred to in the court documents as 'John and Jane Doe', began IVF treatment with the clinic in March 2025 and said the woman believed the embryo contained her egg and her husband’s sperm.
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Instead, court documents say the woman, described as 'caucasian', gave birth to a baby girl in early December who had the 'appearance of a non-caucasian child'.
The couple then sought genetic testing and allegedly learned the baby was not biologically related to either of them, according to the filings.
The lawsuit alleged: "Of equal concern to the Plaintiffs is the obvious possibility that someone else was implanted with one or more of their embryos and is pregnant with or has been pregnant with and is presently parenting one or more of their children."
Court records state that the couple reached out to the Fertility Center of Orlando to figure out how to unite the baby with her real parents.
At the time the lawsuit was filed, they had allegedly received no response from the clinic.
"An intensely strong emotional bond was created on the part of John and Jane Doe with the unborn child Jane Doe carried during the nine months of her pregnancy, and despite the certain knowledge that Baby Doe is not their genetically matched child, the emotional bond grows stronger every minute of every day that Baby Doe remains in their care," the lawsuit stated.
The filing added that the couple would be willing to continue caring for the baby but that she 'should legally and morally be united with her genetic parents so long as they are fit, able and willing to take her'.
An attorney for the couple told News 6: "The heartbreaking and unexplained invitro fertilization errors described in our recently filed lawsuit remain unresolved.
"While our clients continue to fall more deeply in love with a beautiful little girl who is someone else’s child, they are also living with the unbearable knowledge that there may be one or more of their own children unknowingly in the care of strangers."
The statement continued: "It is unimaginable how such mistakes could have happened, and it is inexcusable how the doctor and clinic responsible for those mistakes could be running from the consequences of their reckless conduct.
"It is a mystery why they are refusing to voluntarily cooperate in trying to undo the mess they have created, but that refusal has required us to seek emergency court intervention and may soon require a broad public appeal for help."
An official statement from the Fertility Center of Orlando shared to Facebook earlier today (22 January) reads: "We are actively cooperating with an investigation to support one of our patients in determining the source of an error that resulted in the birth of a child who is not genetically related to them.
"Multiple entities are involved in this process, and all parties are working diligently to help identify when and where the error may have occurred. Our priority remains transparency and the well-being of the patient and child involved. We will continue to assist in any way that we can, regardless of the outcome of the investigation."
Tyla has reached out to the Fertility Center of Orlando for further comment.